JAPAN'S NATIONAL SPACE Development Agency launched the fifth TR-1A solid propellant sounding rocket from Tanegashima on 25 September, carrying 750kg of science experiments to an altitude of 100km (55nm) during a sub-orbital flight in which they were exposed to 6min of micro-gravity conditions, to qualify technology for use on the Japan Experiment Module aboard the international space station. The payload was recovered 320km downrange from Tanegashima. First launched in 1991, the 13m-high TRIA is based on the solid-rocket booster of the H2.
Source: Flight International
